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Contrary to available facts, the Akwa Ibom State Government has dismissed as “rumour” the withdrawal of police operatives from former Governor Udom Emmanuel’s residences at the Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo, and his hometown, Awa Iman, in the Onna Local Government Area of the state.
PREMIUM TIMES exclusively reported on 4 October about an order dated 30 September, signed by Ekwo Godwin, an assistant superintendent of police, on behalf of the chief security officer at the Government House, Uyo, directing the operatives attached to Mr Emmanuel’s residences in the state to withdraw from their locations on 1 October and report at the police headquarters, Uyo, for debriefing.
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The withdrawal of the operatives is a fallout of the rift between Mr Emmanuel and his successor, Umo Eno, following the governor’s defection in June from the PDP to the APC.
Akwa Ibom govt reacts
A day after PREMIUM TIMES’ report, the Commissioner for Information in Akwa Ibom, Aniekan Umanah, circulated a statement in which he said, “To the best of our knowledge, there has been no complaint or report from any former Governor or their media aides about the withdrawal of security personnel.”
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“The rumour exists only in the imagination of those peddling it,” Mr Umanah added.
However, in what seems to be an acknowledgement that operatives have been withdrawn from Mr Emmanuel’s residences, the commissioner said it is the exclusive responsibility of the inspector-general of police and the commissioner of police in each state to deploy, reassign, or withdraw police operatives.
Steve Abia, a spokesperson to Mr Emmanuel, has, however, confirmed that the operatives have been withdrawn from the former governor’s residences.
“The reality on the ground is that if you go to the ex-governor’s residence right now, there are no police security men — that’s the truth,” Mr Abia said, according to a Punch report on Monday.
However, Mr Abia said he could not tell who gave the order for the withdrawal.
It has been a tradition for the Akwa Ibom State Government to request many operatives from police authorities, which the government distributes to serving and former state officials. The request and distribution are handled by the chief security officer at the Government House, Uyo, with the governor’s authorisation.
When our reporter visited on Thursday and Friday, no police operatives were found around Mr Emmanuel’s residences in Uyo and Onna.
After the Akwa Ibom State Government’s denial, our reporter visited both residences on Sunday, 5 October, and found no police operatives around.
The Signature By Royalty Hotel, owned by Governor Eno, who built the hotel and its older branches before he joined politics, is a few metres away from the former governor’s residence in Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo.
When our reporter visited the hotel on Sunday, some police operatives were seen providing security at the premises. A few kilometres away, still within the estate, police operatives in a white Toyota pickup truck were seen providing security at a supermarket, Younik Supermarket, owned by the wife of an engineer, Uwem Okoko, who is very influential within the government circle in Akwa Ibom. Mr Okoko owns a construction company, Hensek Integrated Service Ltd, which does many road construction contracts for the state government.
At least two sources in the Government House, Uyo, have confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that Governor Eno approves the deployment of police operatives to protect serving and former government officials and other private individuals in the state.
The sources said Mr Eno approved the withdrawal of police operatives attached to his predecessor.
Our reporter made a repeat visit to Mr Emmanuel’s residence in Uyo on Monday, 6 October, at about 10:14 a.m. A food vendor was seen at the security post, but not a single police officer was available.
At Mr Emmanuel’s residence in Awa Iman, Onna, some community youths have decided to protect the former governor’s residence without police operatives, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.
A feud that could alter Akwa Ibom’s political equation
What began as a discreetly managed political disagreement between Mr Eno and his predecessor, following the governor’s defection to the APC, has now come to the open, exposing a feud that could alter Akwa Ibom’s political equation.
Since June, when Mr Eno ended the PDP’s 25-year dominance in the state with his defection to the APC, his relationship with Mr Emmanuel, whom he referred to as his “political godfather”, has been strained, though both have tried to downplay the rift.
Political tension in the state is growing more intense by the day as Mr Emmanuel, now an opposition leader, quietly works to regain control of the PDP structure from his successor.
Mr Eno had vowed to retain control of the PDP structure in the oil-rich state to prevent his political enemies from using it against him.
“As a matter of fact, contrary to some insinuations, I want to run both parties (APC and PDP)? Far from it. And what is wrong with being interested? We would not leave the PDP for thieves to hijack and use it against us.
READ ALSO: Gov Eno’s aide resigns amid brewing political crisis in Akwa Ibom
“If anybody thinks we are going to do that, they have something coming. We will lead the structure of the party (PDP) so that they can work together (with APC). So that people don’t come from outside and think that Mr Eno has moved, let me come and hijack the party. Let the structure of the party remain. They have done their congresses. That’s my position,” Mr Eno said in May in a leaked video, which led to the eviction of Channels Television reporters from the Government House, Uyo.
A few days ago, the PDP National Working Committee dissolved the party’s state executive council in Akwa Ibom and constituted a caretaker committee to run party affairs, apparently to prevent Governor Eno from further controlling the party.
Although Mr Eno has repeatedly vowed never to “fight” his predecessor, the cracks widen as the 2027 elections approach.
Ndianaabasi Udom, an aide to Mr Eno, resigned from his appointment with the Akwa Ibom State Rural Access Roads Agency on 30 September to join the newly constituted PDP caretaker committee in the state, causing panic across the APC-led government.
Two days later, the governor announced the dissolution of statutory and non-statutory boards and commissions in the state. Hours later, several of Mr Eno’s aides and some politicians took to Facebook to pledge their loyalty to the governor and the APC.
“Akwa Ibom is an APC state,” Mr Eno told a crowd of supporters who came out to receive him at the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, on Friday.
“You must say this loud and clear, you must be proud to belong to the centre, you must be proud to receive the support of the centre. So, now, it is time for you to show and to wear our badge of honour very proudly – that you are an APC member.”
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